S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 creeping towards RPG?

There's going to be a greater emphasis on survival within S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, developer GSC Game World has revealed - hinting at a shift towards being an RPG rather than a shooter.

In previous games, the modding community had to add daily necessities such as sleep, although it's not clear which elements of survival GSC will use in S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2.

"Yes," was all the team offered when asked on Facebook whether there will be "more of a survival element to S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2".

Also interesting is the decision to drop faction wars for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 - a feature GSC had spent a painstaking amount of time getting right, eventually, in sequel Call of Pripyat.

Could this be something to do with the capabilities of consoles? This new game is a multi-platform project built by a new engine, remember.

"Since we develop primarily on PC, you won't see any compromises in the PC version," the developer promised. "The key difference between the PC and console versions will be the beauty of graphics (meaning PC will offer more of visual effects)."

What about the user interface, will that be compromised on PC because of the console versions? "No, whatsoever."

GSC Game World wouldn't deny nor confirm whether S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 1 hero Sidorovich will return, nor whether the new game will take place all in one large zone. The locations being used this time are the "triangle of CNPP, the cities of Chernobyl and Chernobyl 2 (where the huge antenna is located)."

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 will offer more underground bases and X-Labs, and GSC has some "really interesting ideas" for the import-a-weapon feature.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 was announced last August, following an eye-opening announcement of 4 million sales for the series so far.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Shadow of Chernobyl, a bug-ridden masterpiece, presented a stark, terrifying fiction based on the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in Ukraine. You play the part of a Stalker - a mercenary that gets the jobs done.

What did Eurogamer think? "For some people the odd rough brokenness of S.T.A.L.K.E.R. will frustrate and annoy. It isn't finely polished, and it's not Hollywood; this is more like an antidote to the Americanised way of doing things. It's a warped behemoth from the Ukraine, and one of the scariest games on the PC. Stalker will remind you of all kinds of prior games, and yet it will also defy your expectations. Like the mythological Chernobyl zone it is based upon, this game is a treacherous, darkly beautiful terrain. Not everyone is going to enjoy venturing into the zone, but some of those who do will find what they've been looking for."